In the Air Tonight
by onetreefan
Summary: Lake finds himself in a new relationship, serving as a needed release from the SVU. But can everyone accept her?  Pairing revealed in first chapter. 1st chapter M, rest T.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, Im thinking this new detective, Lake, is pretty cool. And I just had this awesome thought, but I want to know if you guys would like to see me go through with it. Let me know... :D I will reveal the woman at the end of this chapter... good luck seeing if you could guess...**

Detective Lake could say he had a rough day. Then again, every day was rough in the Manhattan 1-6 SVU squadron. He literally almost got blown up on one of his first cases working as Fin Tutuola's partner. He didn't admit to pain easily, but the bruising along his shoulder blade was difficult to deny.

He entered his new apartment, as he still adjusted to his new environment. Manhattan was an adjustment, though both Brooklyn and Manhattan were both considered New York City to most people. Chester needed to catch his breath and hope that this recent case didn't plague his thoughts tonight.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind. He groaned from the familiarity and relaxed in her embrace. As her lips pressed against his neck, his hand ran up and down her arm. "Baby," he whispered as she teased him from lack of sight.

"You need to take a shower. I'd offer to join you, but I have a surprise for you when you get out."

"I'll hurry," he groaned as he moved to turn and see her.

"No, wait and shower. Then I am yours." And within that instant she removed herself from their embrace and hid before he could see her.

Chester took what felt like the shortest shower of his life. He got the essentials down, the body wash, the shampoo. Once he was rinsed off, he grabbed a towel from the sink she left and wrapped it around his waist.

As he entered his room, he was surprised to find his candles lit and her lying naked waiting for him. She nibbled her lip, teasing him and soon smirked when she saw his physical reaction. "You want me," she stated more than asked.

"You know I do," he said moving closer to her. He stood before her, taking in her heavenly glow upon his dark bed. Moving upward from her feet, past her feminine mound, her flat stomach, perky breasts, he got lost in those eyes he fell for so damn easily.

She felt herself heating up as his gaze examined her so intensely. Instead of showing his effect on her, she grabbed him by his towel and pulled him on top of her. "Come get me, baby," she whispered hotly against his ear.

Their mouths met in a heated fashion as Lake's inhibitions were released. The wetness remaining on his skin provided a new level of friction they both enjoyed. She wanted to feel all of him, removing the towel quickly and bucked toward him, wanting more and fast.

_Something is wrong_ he thought to himself as she pressed for him so much. He liked this new side to her sexuality, but wondered what sparked it.

"Don't think," she moaned. "Just fuck me."

"Babe--"

"Please," she groaned.

Her plea was answered as his hand found her clitoris. She released a surprised yelp and he couldn't help but laugh slightly at her shock. "Baby, you're so good," she moaned as his fingers controlled her lower body just right.

Knowing he was quickly becoming the dominate lover, she moved her arm to his dresser drawer to find his box of condoms. She took one and ripped the wrapper with her teeth. She took it and made sure to pinch the tip. There would be no way she would get pregnant any time soon. Too much of her life at the moment depended on her independence.

As she covered his shaft with the familiar latex, he mouth moved to her breasts, pleasuring them in ways she had only experienced with him. Her head fell back against his pillows, her body up in flames. "Chess... I don't... wait..."

He stopped, his eyes hooded with the cloak of desire and peppered kisses up her chest until he finally met her lips. "What's wrong baby?"

"I want you inside me when I come," she moaned as he playfully bit her collar bone. "Don't leave a hickey because I don't want to answer any questions."

Knowing to ask his newest question in a moment, he entered her suddenly, smirking at the shock found in her face. Instead of taking control, he rolled their bodies over, her straddled above him. "Chess?"

"Ride me, cowgirl," he demanded with desire as he bucked up and playfully spanked her.

Suddenly nervous, she knew she wanted to please him. "Guide me," she whispered, her young sexual history coming into light.

Lake moved his hands to her hips and lifted her body up and down his shaft. Groaning, he responded, "Like this baby. Go with it."

She pressed her hands against his chest as her need for release was stampeding against her. Her hair fell over her shoulders and her breasts swayed in front of his face. He took pleasure with witnessing her own pleasure, moving his hand back to her clit.

"Im close," she gasped.

"Thats okay. Go with it."

"You?"

"Yeah, me too," he groaned.

She rode him to her brinking point and was pleasantly surprised when he released a guttural moan and lost control within her. With his release, she yelped and moaned as hers took over.

After her body's pleasure based spasms, she rolled off his tired and wet body as he spooned her form.

As his mind met back with his current reality, he ran his fingers through her blonde locks and kissed her warm skin. "He doesn't know about us?" he whispered.

"Im a grown woman, I don't need his permission," she whispered in reply, moving closer to his embrace.

"Maureen---"

"Just hold me." She felt him nod behind her and found comfort in his arms. "You are enjoying this, right?" she asked.

He smiled against her skin and kissed her neck compassionately. "Yes, baby. I like this a lot. I just wish you were comfortable with us to let others know."

"And I will, soon."

"Your father---"

"He works with you. That doesn't need to be a factor in our relationship."

"I don't want to be a secret," he whispered, admitting one of his silent thoughts.

Her heart filled with guilt as she turned to meet his gaze. She kissed his lips softly and ran her hand against his new stubble. "Soon, okay? We'll tell him soon. I don't want to hurt you."

"Shh..." he hushed her, kissing her softly. "Let's just sleep on it, okay?"

She nodded and rested her head against his chest, knowing this is the safest place Maureen Stabler has ever been.


	2. Chapter 2

A phone ring shook him awake in the middle of the night. He groaned and reached over Maureen for his phone. "Lake," he grumbled as Maureen began to stir.

"Man, we got a case. 72nd and Charles. We got a new vic."

"What about Benson and Stabler?"

"Stabler is useless now that he's playing the daddy card and Benson is useless without Stabler. Its you and me Lake."

Maureen moaned and started placing kisses along her lover's chest.

Chester groaned felt himself giving into her desire. He then heard laughter on the other line and grew pink with horror as he heard his partner say, "Im giving you an hour man. Pay her and move on, fool."

He closed his phone and Maureen started laughing as he leaned his head back against his pillow. Her body had successfully found its way too his lower torso as she asked, "So I'm your hooker now, baby?"

As her tongue assaulted his skin, he pulled her up to his face and kissed her furiously. "Whatever you want to be, babe," he smirked rolling her underneath him, her laughing as he tickled her sides.

Fin pulled up to the crime scene and couldn't help but smirk at the thought of what his partner was doing. He remembered that needed release when he first joined the squad. Though Fin missed working full time with Munch, Lake was a smooth transition. He was young, and simply finding his way in the world of crime prevention.

Fin exited his vehicle and moved over to the scene, tarp already covering the corpse. "What do we have here Melinda?" he asked crouching down to the body.

"We have the body of Emily Brown, 23, strangled and raped with her blue eyes gouged beside her dying form. Unfortunately, your perp is smart and used a condom. However, I have a feeling she collected some skin fragments underneath her fingernails. That is one of our first assignments when we analyze her body."

"Any phone? Any witnesses?"

"The couple who found her body are being interviewed by Officer Morgan. She'll write that up for you at the precinct, I believe."

"We got a sick son of a bitch on our hands," he grumbled as he turned away from her dead form to call his partner. He heard a couple rings and wasn't surprised to find his voicemail. "Lake, when you get to the precinct, I want you to dig up all the information you can on an Emily Brown. 23, blonde, blue-eyed. Unfortunately, the perp is a sick son of a bitch and I have a nagging feeling that this can expand. This needs to become top priority. See you at the squadron."

Fin closed his phone and started moving toward the car when he heard, "Fin!"

He turned and Melinda quickly strode toward him. "I found this note beside her. Good luck, we'll run it for prints once you copy what it says."

Fin turned the bloody card over and read the cryptic message:

_**Haha... seems a certain someone **_

_** needs a comical clue **_

_** 2-2-2 find out who the**_

_** e**_

_**l**_

_**l I am! Good luck**_

_**D-E-T-E-C-T-I-V-E-S... **_

_** h**_

_** e playing card is **_

_** l**_

_** u**_

_** e #A...**_

_****_

"Oh, boy. Here we go again," Fin said, shaking his head in respectable confusion.

Chester was staring at the victim, Emily Brown, broadcasted on the large screen. She reminded him so much of Maureen that it scared him. He couldn't help but remember their night together last night, and knew that he needed to keep her safe. He took out his phone and quickly text her: **Thinking of u. Still in bed? **

To his surprise, he got a response quickly and opened to read: **Yep, & waiting 4u naked n bed baby. I vote u come on ur lunch... & all nite long. :P Reen**

He released a groan was surprised to find a strong grip along his neck. "Hey, keep that noise in the bathroom, Lake. Didn't think we needed to tell you about public sexual displays," Stabler teased.

Lake instantly tensed, knowing that he was in fact remembering his daughter riding him just hours before.

There was a small amount of teasing coming from the squad room doors as Fin, Munch and Benson entered separately. Olivia moved silently to Elliot's side and Fin commented, "Yeah, its my bad that I called during hooker night."

"Hooker night?" Munch asked, his eye brows raising significantly.

"Yep, poor bastard. I called him in the middle... I hope." Fin said with a laugh.

Stabler just laughed and Olivia rolled her eyes. "You be careful, Lake. You're going to get a bad rep."

"Hey, wasn't Maureen into the bad boys," Fin asked jokingly toward Stabler.

"Nah, that was Kathleen, the rebel rouser," Munch said taking a bite out of his donut. "A donut not created by our corrupt government."

"1: shut the hell up, Munch," Elliot said taking a drink of his coffee. "And 2nd: both my daughters have pretty decent heads on their shoulders. They know better than to look around here for male attention. They should be focusing on school."

Lake suddenly felt extremely awkward and lost his appetite.

"Oh El, they are young. Im sure they will want to look around for fun," Olivia said drinking some of his coffee.

"Liv, anyone in this squadron is at least ten years older than my oldest. If anyone was to come near them, I'd break their arm."

"Oh El," she said with a laugh and rolled eyes as she strode toward the coffee pot. What she didn't notice was him checking out her ass. That was until Munch through his second powdered donut at Stabler's head.

Before Lake could excuse himself, Cragen came in and demanded, "What do we got?"

"Vic is Emily Brown, 23, single, live in a small apartment on Vine. She was the weather girl for KYPC news." Fin stated looking at his fact sheet. "She was strangled and raped, with a cryptic note beside her. I think found the start of a chain of dead bodies."

The note was posted next to the screen and Stabler couldn't keep his eyes off the scene. "She looks so much like Reen, Liv," he whispered.

"I know, El, I know," she said, touching his back softly.

Lake swallowed and found his confident voice when asking, "What do you want us to do?"

"You and Fin check out the family and neighbors. Find out who would want to hurt her. Benson, Stabler, you will go to Warner and find out more facts about the scene. Munch will start decoding the note. Questions?" Everyone nodded and he clapped his hands once, saying, "Lets catch this son of a bitch."


	3. Chapter 3

_Don't just stand there_

_come close to me_

_I've decided_

_you're all I need_

_We've been wanting a reason_

_this could be a good situation_

_maybe tonight_

_we'll throw us in_

_Every time you touch your skin to mine_

_I can't take it_

_I know how you'll want to feel tonight_

_Let's fly baby_

_Don't start talking_

_Keep movin' on_

_This was always what we were in it for_

_Every time you touch your skin to mine_

_I can't take it_

_I know how you'll want to feel tonight_

_Let's fly baby_

Maureen stood in the shower, the hot droplets coating her skin like a second skin. She pressed her hands to the tile, letting the force of the water fall upon her head, drowning her of all sounds other that the rain. Bob Hartay played through the shower radio and her thoughts went straight to her lover. She longed for his arms to wrap around her waist and his soul to pound into her with intensity and momentum. Her skin grew flush with desire as she imagined his fingers claiming her from her sticky core and his mouth claimed her neck.

As if by magic or a supernatural connection, he pulled her by the waist and inserted her upon him from behind. She moaned loudly as her head fell back against his shoulder. "You found me," she gasped, staring at his dark profile.

"I found you," he moaned as he continued to bounce her above him. "Reen---"

"Shhh..." she whispered as she pivoted to face him. His face twisted in desire as her movements startled him. "I know what you need."

She removed herself from him, his reluctance apparent in his growl. She smirked up at him as she kneeled between his thighs. "How long do you have?"

"35 tops."

Without warning, she licked up his shaft, his hands clutching her hair in reflex. Maureen rubbed small circles on his inner thighs as she filled her mouth with him, sucking as she went down. His moans were her signal that she was doing it right. When she felt he was close, she removed herself and blew against him, him twitching in delight.

"I want you, Reen," he moaned as she created a hickey against his inner thigh.

"You're mine, cowboy," she smirked as she moved to finish her job.

Within moments, he came within her and was surprised she handled it so beautifully. Once she licked up his juices, she grabbed a small body sponge with his favorite scent and began rubbing it against his body, refreshing him.

He pulled her up to meet his gaze and he kissed her deeply. "Reen..."

"What happened, baby?" she asked, staring into his brown orbs.

"Just... Just like you..." he swallowed and looked away from her.

"Hey," she turned his head to meet her gaze and she placed a quiet kiss against his lips. "Im here. Right beside you. And I... I wouldn't be the same person if you weren't in my life."

"Do you want to know, what happened to her?" he asked.

"Not if you aren't ready to talk about it."

Her phone startled their silence. She gave him a quick kiss and said, "Rinse off. Say goodbye before you leave."

He nodded and stood to drown in thoughts in her.

When Maureen reached her phone, she flipped it open answering, "Maureen Stabler speaking."

"Hey baby girl."

"Daddy!" she yelped, noting her compromising position, thanking the Lord her father wasn't there to comment. "Everything okay?"

"I.. I just wanted to hear your voice." he said, sitting upon the locker bench in the locker room.

"Why? Are you okay? Is Liv okay?"

"Yeah, Im fine, Olivia is fine, too, baby girl. Im just working a tough case and I thought of you."

"I know."

"You _know_?" he asked in confusion.

Recovering quickly, she got out, "Well why else would you call me?" She silently breathed in a sigh of relief.

"Really now? Have I become that unreliable?" he asked, smirk evident in his voice.

She laughed, climbing into bed and replied, "Oh yes, you left me to be a latch key child!"

His laugh made her smile but was quickly distracted when her boyfriend walked through dripping wet in only a towel hanging low on his waist. He stretched as he rummaged through their belongings finding a good outfit for the job. His fluid muscles sent Maureen's mind spinning as she moaned out of instinct.

"Maureen, are you there? Are you getting sick?"

_Shit!_ she thought to herself as she stuttered for a reply. "Umm... yeah Dad, Im fine!" Chester looked at her and laughed silently, noting her embarrassed blush. "Dad, I have been fighting a bug for a couple weeks now. I think Im going to see a doctor tomorrow."

"Okay, well let me know how it goes, okay? I love you baby girl."

"Love you too, dad." Shutting her phone and looking toward the door, she yelled, "Hey you! Come in here and kiss me goodbye!"

Ches came in laughing stating, "So, am I an illness?"

Smirking she replied, "The Love Bug."

"Haha..." he leaned down and pressed his lips quickly to hers. "In all seriousness, are you okay?"

"I've woken up nauseated for a couple of weeks, but I think its just stress."

"Just for protection, I want you to get it checked out, okay?"

"Ches..."

"Please," he said, nibbling behind her ear.

"You're cheating," she moaned with a laugh escaping her lips.

"Is it working?" he said meeting her bright blue eyes. "You are so beautiful."

"I'll go," she whispered. "Now go, or Cragen will have your ass and Munch will never let it down."

"You should come by the station. Just to _check in _on your dad." He smiled as he headed toward the door.

"Be careful!" she yelled out to him.

"For you!" he called back as he left his-- their-- apartment.

Elliot walked down the stairs from the crib and was saddened to see Munch attaching a second victim on the crime board. "Jenna MacNolan. 28. Brown eyes gouged and fed to what appears to be a dog. Raped, sodomized and fourth digit sliced off. Dead at least 72 hours."

_Olivia..._ is where is thoughts took him. He turned and rushed to the roof to find her staring out into the city.

She turned when she felt his presence but was surprised when she felt him against her in an intimate embrace. "El?" she asked into his shirt.

"I need you to get off this case."

"I won't do that. Emily deserves justice!"

"You can't! You can't avenge her now."

"Why"

"Not when Jenna's eyes were just like yours!" he yelled in a tired effect.

"What?" she said meeting his cloudy stare. "There's a second victim?"

He turned away from her at this point and she stepped toward him. "Oh El..."

"Benson, Stabler, we need you downstairs," Lake said opening the roof door. "Oh, Im sorry for interrupting."

"Its fine," Elliot said finding his voice. "We'll be down in a sec."

When he left, Olivia grabbed his hand and daringly pressed his knuckles to her lips. "Come tonight. We'll talk."

He nodded and followed her path to catch their newest bastard.

She opened the drawer beside her bedside and took out the taunting box... _EPT First Response Pregnancy Now! _Taking a deep breath, Maureen removed the instrument from the box and ventured to the bathroom on a mission for clarification.


	4. Chapter 4

****

OKAY!! I AM WAY LATE ON ANY UPDATES! LIKE ABOUT A YEAR TOO LATE. I AM SO SORRY. LIFE HAS BEEN CRAZY LATELY. I JUST GRADUATED FROM HS AND AM GETTING READY OT EXPLORE MY THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED, PMED, EMAILED AND READ MY WORK THROUGHOUT MY ABSENCE. HOPEFULLY THIS IS THE BEGINNING TO MY WAY BACK TO WRITING. BUT HERE, ENJOY THE LATEST UPDATE OF IN THE AIR TONIGHT...

We aren't ready for this. I am not ready for this. He isn't ready for this. We can't be having a baby. Not now.

These thoughts were consuming Maureen's brain as she laid upon their bed waiting for the timer to beep. In less than five minutes her future would be changed forever. His could be changed forever. Would he stay? Would they get married? Would they break up? How will I explain this to Dad?

Maureen would never forgive her mother for trapping her father for the second time in his life. She had sensed their separation from the moment he found it better to call Olivia than his wife about marital problems. She wasn't naive. Peoples emotions can change on a whim. It is a fault in human nature. People marry out of love or obligation. Unfortunately for her parents, they married for the latter. Love came later, if it did at all. She knew Olivia Serena Benson held the keys to her father's soul. So did everyone who saw them together. Especially her mother. The moment Kathleen called her late one night to say her father was actually at home made her weary of her mother's intentions. When news of her mother's pregnancy came about, she was furious. Maureen knew her father, he was too catholic to be able to be separate from his new child's life. She watched as he broke his and Olivia's heart in one moment and couldn't help but hate her mother for hurting her father this way.

She didn't want that to be the case in her reality. She was very much in love with Chester Lake. They were happy. They loved one another. Would he stay because he loved her or was in love with the baby they created? She didn't want him to walk out the door twenty years later. She didn't want to trap him.

The buzzer rang. She wiped away her stray tears and entered their bathroom. His cologne filled her senses and it soothed her shaky hands. Closing her eyes, she picked up the stick and silently counted to three. Opening her eyes, she gasped and dropped the stick. "Oh God..."

"What have you made out the notes Lake?" Stabler bellowed from the corner of the stair case.

Lake had been studying the notes as if there was a timer on his belt and any slow movement would electrocute him. He was able to decipher the majority of the first note with some semblance of pattern. The perp was instigating the squad as a whole, meaning that this effected one or more of their top detectives. Most were looking toward Elliot, seeing that the victims' related to him in some way, physically. Lake couldn't rule himself out though silently. He and Maureen had tried to keep their love quiet, but secrets aren't known to last in New York City.

The playing cards stored in evidence were each a deuce, first of diamonds, the other of clubs. Appropriate to the victims, Emily was very wealthy and Jenna worked at an irish golf course in Long Island. They knew that two more deuces needed to be played and they didn't want two more victims.

After Lake provided his analysis, Elliot was still irked by one of the segments in second riddle. It read:

What is between a pond and an ocean you may ask? could it be a...

ha ha. you think I would address the obvious. Look around you detectives.

Olivia can see the tension taking hold of her partner's shoulders. She came behind him, resting her hands upon his shoulders and began easing the knots in his muscles. "I don't care what Kathy would say, you tell her you need sleep tonight. This is a big case. She can handle getting out of her freakin bed to get crackers and pickles with ketchup without you. You are our top detective on this case. We don't need you breaking on us, 'kay?"

Elliot tried to laugh, but was too intoxicated by her smell and the way her hands were magic on his body to focus. Before he mumbled something incoherent and potentially life changing, he grasped her hand within his and smiled at her tiredly. "Thank you, Liv. I miss..."

"What El?" she asked turning to him completely.

"Us." He stared at her with broken eyes and rubbed her knuckles. He saw the raw pain beneath her perfected tough exterior and it broke him knowing he was part of her armor.

"El, we had our chance, but I will not be the reason your family is broken." She touched his jaw slightly and smiled sadly at him. "Please don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"I can't help who I love, Olivia."

"I love you too, but I am in love with the man who is dedicated, loyal, loving and compassionate. If you walk out on Kathy, you will destroy that man and I would never forgive myself."

"Liv..."

"Im going to get some tea for myself, but do you want some coffee?" Olivia asked speaking slightly louder noticing John studying their quiet conversation as if they were one of JFK's conspiracies.

Catching on, Elliot nodded and asked for coffee. He couldn't stare at her or he would break on the spot. He needed rest. He needed to be back to holding her warm body in his arms and he needed it to be before he found out Kathy was pregnant, and before God teased him with a sense of happily ever after.

Lake was getting tired. He was thankful his shift would be over in two hours. As much as catching this bastard would sooth his long term stress, he needed Maureen to remind him of the goodness and purity this world can provide. As if she sensed him, his phone rang and saw her code name, "SLTY1" appear on his phone. He opened it and quickly whispered "hold on" and motioned to his partner that he would be up on the roof. Once he got there, he was able talk. "Hey baby."

"Ches..." Maureen said in a distressed tone.

"Reen, what's wrong?" he asked, scared that the perp might have gotten to her.

"I need to see you. Can you get off early?"

"Is this about the doctor's visit? What did he say? Are you alone?"

Confused, she replied, "Yes, Im alone and yes, this is about what the doctor said. I need you, Ches."

"Okay, where are you?"

"At our place."

"Stay there. I will be there in ten minutes. Stay calm and remember I love you."

"Bye, baby," she whispered.

Lake rushed down the stairs and to his captain's office like a storm. Rushing in, Cragen looked up and saw the worry lines upon his young detective's face and asked, "Is there an update on the case?"

"No, but I need to go. There is an emergency within my family I must attend to."

"Sit down Lake."

"Cap."

"I said sit down!" he said sternly.

Praying Maureen would be okay a while longer, he closed the door and sat before his superior officer. "Is there a problem?"

"Does he know?" Don asked, looking at Chester questioningly.

Lake froze and responded, "They know about the latest updates of the case. But Sir, what are you asking?"

"Im asking if Stabler knows that you and Maureen are together." When Don saw fear pale his young detective's face he raised his hand in as a flag of calm and said, "Im not here to bust you and I am not here to tell Stabler if he doesn't know. But I need to know if you are getting too close to this case."

Taking a breath, Chester looked up and said, "I met Maureen ten months ago when I was still working narcotics. We met through mutual friends and we quickly became best friends. Then one night we decided that we should give each other a shot. We have been romantically involved for about six months."

Sighing, he turned away and looked out to observe his squad. Elliot was talking to Olivia and Munch and Fin were about to head to the Hudson on a lead about the case. "Does Elliot know?"

"No, Sir. I want to tell him, but I want Maureen to be with me but she isn't ready."

Don nodded and said, "Is she okay?"

"She called me crying. I need to be with her. I just..."

"Come back in the morning. If Stabler and Benson can get a handle on this guy, we may be able to bust him but the end of the week. But you know the ass holes in the courts. We need all the evidence specified before proper action can be made by us. Are we clear?"

He nodded and made his way quickly out of the squadroom.

"When we find this prick, Elliot, I will not stop you from kicking his ass." Elliot smirked and moved next to Olivia at the picture board. He placed his hand on her lower back, rubbing it in circular motions and she took a heavy breath. "Just look at what he did to their bodies. Its truly heinous."

It was then that a light bulb lit in his brain and he stiffened beside her. "Lake."

"Excuse me?" Olivia said turning to him.

"Liv, we have been thinking literally of what is between a pond and an ocean. We were thinking of the Hudson for some sort of location. But he was talking about Lake."

"El, do you think that Chester had something to do with this?"

"No, Im saying that he may know more about the pattern between these victims than meets the eye." Staring at the victims and back at Lake's desk, he asked aloud, "What are you hiding, Lake?"

Running up the stairs, Lake rushed to open his apartment door and found Maureen waiting on the couch holding onto her pillow as if it were her lifeline. "Reen?" he asked, closing and locking the door and moving to her side. "Reen, you need to talk me baby. What's going on?"

"Please don't hate me," she cried, burying her face into his chest.

"Shh... That's impossible, baby girl. I love you so much. Just tell me what's going on with you. What did the doctor say?"

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Maureen touched her lover's face and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before whispering, "Im pregnant."


End file.
